The Good, The Bad, and A Little Bit of Magic
by animellow
Summary: Elias has something on his mind which he can't seem to say out loud, and neither him nor Chise know why. With new and budding feelings growing bigger and faster, will Elias be able to understand these emotions? *The first chapter might be rewritten, as I'm not entirely sure how well that turned out. Please leave some reviews and tell me if anything seems weird, or if you liked it!
1. Chapter 1

Locks of short red hair, eyes of slight-emerald green, and a soft smile brighter than even her own personality. She was certainly beautiful, and the mixture of her feautures were a rare combination indeed. Those were only the facts, and yet what was this feeling in Elias' chest that he couldn't shake off every time he saw her?

He couldn't decide whether it was good or bad. He wanted to ask her what it could mean. He wanted to say that it felt as if his heart and being were pulled toward her each time she turned back to him from ahead, and that each word she spoke he heard but did not listen to, but he found he could not for some reason. If she said to look at this pretty fairy while they walked through the forest, he would not know, and would only be able to look in the right direction because she pointed it out to him.

She seemed to be doing that quite often though, didn't she? Pointing him in directions. Certainly without her guidance of the human things and traditions as well as the cities and towns of which he only knew certain paths, he slowly began to learn more as she brought him to places he never would have gone had they never met.

He remembered the last time they went on another trip to somewhere she called "fun". At first she wouldn't tell him where it was she was leading him, unusually excited but obviously trying to appear calm as she grabbed hold of his wrist and brought him through the streets of the town. They had been strolling along the sidewalk beside a park, the metal fence separating them from children he saw playing and rolling around on the grass. At a corner she turned left and he followed willingly, and on they went with the girl leading him to some unknown destination. It made his heart beat a little faster, he assumed because they were rushing a little.

But when they arrived home, Chise smiling warmly and happily with her half-eaten cotton-candy and a large teddy bear she had won for herself (he tried to win it for her as was one was supposed to for his lover, but ultimately failed), he had a conversation with her about heart rates and what it had to do with feelings. It made him feel... confused, she said the word was, for when he claimed he didn't understand.

Elias sighed, looking out the window from his chair, and watched his apprentice mage stare at the sky above, occasionally pointing a finger at a cloud and saying something to Ruth, who laid curled up on the grass beside her form.

He wanted to tell her about it. He wanted to, and yet he did not. He does not, no matter how much he tries to say that yesterday's misunderstanding was for a different reason; that it was because he did not understand whether his heart had been beating fast because of an emotion or because of that day's earlier physical activities. No matter how much he tries, every time she looks up at him with those green eyes of hers he would find that the words were no longer there, and be forced to close his mouth.

Even this morning, when Silver was cooking and preparing the table for breakfast she gave him a stare that said that he needed to ask her already if he wanted to; to gather up his courage because she wouldn't judge him for that. Though he didn't know why he needed to "gather up his courage", as he wasn't the shy sort of fellow. Other than that, he understood completely what she meant without a single word.

A few minutes later she woke up, groggily stepping down the steps with Ruth close by, observing carefully in case she mistepped. She yawned, greeting a good morning, and he greeted her back. Then they ate, they practiced magic, and then she took a break and was off to the front yard with the Church Grim tailing her closely, where she was now.

And during all that time he hadn't told her.

It's not that he did not have any chances. Of course he did, but the words somehow kept staying at the back of his throat. Was this what they called being shy? Or maybe even nervous? He did not sense any change in his heart rate, nor did he have any reason for which to hold back. And yet, he still kept quiet about it. Why was that so?

Maybe this is something human. Maybe he could ask Chise about it, then afterwards be able to approach her about his heart rate when they were at the park. But when he watched her stand up, Ruth getting up along with her, and return to the house to greet Elias with a gentle smile, some unknown feeling stirred within his chest, and once again he found himself speechless.

Was it a good thing, or a bad thing? Was it some sort of magic that she somehow unknowingly released? He didn't know.


	2. Chapter 2

Chise noticed that lately Elias has been pretty quiet. Not just that, but he had also been talking with her less, and it seemed like he had something on his mind, judging from how he's been opening his mouth only to close it again. But if he didn't want to tell her about it just yet, she decided to wait for him, seeing as how she trusts that if it was really important he would probably hide it better (which upset her a little, since he should be saying if something like that was going on).

So she waited. She waited, and waited, and waited.

Weeks had passed since their last outing, when she had brought him to a carnival that had started up in the town recently. And ever since then she knew that Elias had been thinking about something, more so than usual, and no matter what each time she prompted him or asked him if anything was wrong he would seem to speak, then change his mind and say something else.

Now she wondered what to do, lying on the grass as she pointed out shapes of clouds in the sky above.

"What do you think, *Rutsu?"

She turned her head to her right as Ruth laid his head on her stomach, locking his gaze with hers.

"Maybe he's just being shy," he answered, and closed his eyes in fondness at the warmth of his owner.

She sighed. "Maybe," she said, more to herself than to the grim.

But what could it be, she wondered? What was it that caused Elias to become so quiet that he might actually be shy? Normally he would just ask her a question as soon as the time was right, and never showed any signs of having kept that question in mind for how long.

She blinked, and the apprentice mage turned her eyes to the front door of the house, which was closed. She stared at the vines and their leaves which covered the walls, but truth be told her focus was elsewhere.

While her eyes seemed to stare at the vines just beside the window, she was really focusing on Elias as he sat on his chair. He seemed to be thinking, his mind wandering as it usually did when he was there. With an open book in hand which he wasn't reading anymore, she observed him close his eyes - and after a few seconds passed, open them again.

Then suddenly he shifted his gaze towards her - as if he knew that she was watching. Watching him watching her.

She blushed slightly, quickly turning back to the clouds and pointing at one, telling Ruth that it looked like a fairy. He played along, knowing that his master was just trying to distract herself, and said that it looked like a dragonfly, and that he wanted to eat it.

Chise laughed at that, and he smiled fondly inside.

As she laughed, Chise made a resolve to continue to wait for a little longer. If Elias didn't want to tell her just yet, whether it was because he was shy or not, she would be patient. She would wait for when he felt the time was right, or until he felt comfortable, because in a way, it was pretty magical already for him to have these emotions which he claimed to not have before.

 **Author Notes:**

 ***Japanese pronunciation of Ruth, I think. I put it this way because it sounds more natural like this, since that's how she says his name in the anime.**

 **Hey! So, I'm back with another chapter of The Good, The Bad, and A Little Bit of Magic! Yay.**

 **I'm not really sure whether this chapter's quality was as good as the first, but I hope you liked it! If you have anything to say about it though, just leave it in the reviews!**

 **Also, for those of you waiting for the next chap of "Gone" and "The Next Disaster" among my D. Gray-Man fanfics, I'm really sorry I haven't posted anything yet! I haven't been in the mood to write it, and when I try the quality just isn't the same! It makes me want to cry. But I promise I'll try to update as soon as I can, so stay tuned!**

 **I also have a two Haikyuu! fanfics I plan to write, one of which will be a Halloween special! (I wasn't able to write it before Halloween finished, sadly, but it's going to go up anyway.) So look out for those, plus an upcoming BNHA fanfic!**

 **I'm not really sure when I'll be posting those (hopefully soon), but for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as any of my other stories you may have read. If you enjoyed this one, leave a comment in the reviews!**

 **Thanks for reading!**  
 **\- animellow**


	3. Chapter 3

From the floor, Ruth watched as Elias picked out some books from the study's large collection. The ones on the floor he didn't touch, instead immediately searching for instructional magic texts and the like. Once he had found what he was looking for, with now five books gathered in his arms he moved to the left section of shelves.

Normally Elias didn't choose any books there, Ruth noticed, and wondered why but didn't ask. Instead, when he left the grim chose to stay in the study a little longer, claiming that he would like to read a few books himself as well as interact with the other fairies, to which Elias nodded, and left him to his own devices.

After the door was closed shut with a soft _click_ , he stood up on all four paws and transformed into his human self, then turned to the shelf where Elias had picked out his last book, a gap between the others where it used to be.

He walked towards it, carefully stepping over the scattered and slightly messy piles of books before him. When he reached the shelf, he took note that most of the ones there were all very dusty, meaning that they had not been used in a long time.

Silently, he again wondered why, intending to find out.

Ruth bent down and with his right hand, he pulled out a book from the lower left-most corner of the shelf, a place that would be less noticeable and likely unseen. He didn't mind the other fairies he knew were secretly watching, because surely they wouldn't say a thing about it, so he took it and lifted the dull green cover open.

The Wonders of the Human Mind

A Psychology Book by Neiah Lefray

Curiously, he turned the page, but after reading the first paragraph became bored and uninterested. So he closed it, put it back where he got it, and scoured the collection once more.

The second book he retrieved was a leather shade of brown, with gold lining the edges of its cover. It didn't seem to be too dusty, as if it had been used the year before, and the title was on the front unlike the first book.

"Raising A Child," he read.

Well.

No wonder Elias had such a way with his master.

He again placed the book back, and slowly came to realize what this section of books was used for:

Human things.

Emotions, how to do this and that, etc.

So this must've been how Elias learned about the human world before Chise, and if the books were all dusty he had probably finished reading them long before he met the Sleigh Beggy. But then if Chise was already teaching him, why would he need to use a book? For reference?

Ruth doubted that, as he had never done something like this so far. But if not reference, then what was it?

One thing was for sure: if he wanted to know, he needed help.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Silver was ready, and so was Ruth. The plan was already set in motion, and so now all they had to do was wait. Wait for Elias to wake up, come down to eat breakfast, leaving his book somewhere nearby or in his room. Hopefully it would be the latter, but Silver was always ready to distract him should it be the first.

Ruth was currently in Chise's room, waiting for her to wake up as she seemed to be having a nice dream. He lay on the floor beside her bed and stayed silent, listening intently for Elias's door to open and close. Then he'd quietly leave, check his room for the book, and either take it or go with plan B, meaning waiting for Chise. He was fine with either, but Ruth wanted to get this done soon since his master was worried. Elias has been acting strange, he'll admit, so the Grim just wanted to know what it was about and help the both of them talk it out.

Shortly after the closing of the next room's door sounded through the hall, and Ruth's ears perked up. It was time.

He waited one... two... three... four... five seconds for Elias to be halfway down the stairs, then sneakily stood up on his paws and moved to exit the room. After briefly transforming into a human to open the door, he closed it from the outside, and did the opposite for the other room.

He left it open a crack as he scanned the area for any sign of the book Elias had held the night before, checking with his eyes around his bed or on the floor. The square table by his bedside didn't seem to have it, and so he walked over and opened its drawer, but again he came up empty. It must be with him, then, so he had to move on to plan B.

After exiting the room and sneaking quietly back in to Chise's, he lay down on the floor again and closed his eyes, patiently waiting for her to wake. You can imagine his surprise when it turns out, she was already awake.

"Where did you go, Rutsu?"

He turned up to see his master leaning over her bed, staring into his eyes with a gentle smile. She reached a hand out and pet his head.

"Nowhere, Chise," he lied, and she sighed. Did she know somehow that he was lying? He hoped not. Ruth didn't mean to lie to her, but he didn't want her to know yet.

"Sorry," he tried to compensate, licking her hand and leaning his head back. She giggled at its ticklishness, saying, "It's okay."

"Now why don't we get downstairs for some breakfast?" She suggested, and the Grim nodded. She stood up to leave, and he followed diligently as she shut the door behind her. Outside in the hall they came down the stairs Elias had just passed a short while earlier, and Ruth watched as his master yawned and greeted a sleepy good morning.

"Good morning, Chise," was the mage's reply, already sitting at the table in the dining room. Ruth checked the table for the book, but once more it wasn't found. He gave a look to Silver, who shook her head slightly while the other two weren't paying attention.

Ruth sighed inwardly. Well, he would just have to try again after breakfast then. But for now, he would enjoy the company of the people before him, and went to join the two in their meal.

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 **Hey! So I know it's been a while since my last update, but finally here it is! So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Okay? Honestly I think it's a little weird, but whatever you thought I still hope you enjoyed it. As always, thanks for reading!**

 **\- animellow**

 **EDIT: I AM AN IDIOT. I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE.**

 **SPECIAL THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS, Toa Karou, calvina7, and Darlina140.**

 **ANOTHER BIG HAND FOR TOA KAROU, WHO HELPED ME MAKE THIS CHAPTER POSSIBLE! YOU'RE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!**


	4. Chapter 4

What was the reason for this... shyness, was it? Why is it that Elias couldn't say a single word about a single question, when it was so easy and simple? He had pondered over this in his head multiple times that morning, and he couldn't quite figure it out no matter what he tried.

Even after he had taken out an old book in the library for help it didn't do much as he still couldn't understand what it meant, instead only becoming more confused when finished reading. It was supposed to instruct him on "asking questions" and "dealing with shyness", or something related to the sort, but in the end he couldn't comprehend anything. Yes, he did understand the words and what it was trying to explain, but he just couldn't quite... grasp it.

For example, it is stated on page thirteen that if one is too nervous to speak to someone, then he should try to talk to the person more often. Thing is, he did talk to that someone often. Everyday, in fact, because she was living here with him. But again he couldn't get the words out when he tried to, leaving him unsure of this book's reliability. So he had put it back, right before breakfast he had magically transported it to the study, where it lay in the gap between the books he had gotten it from.

Now he was eating with Ruth and Chise, and though the apprentice was right beside him, again he opened his mouth only to find no words. Her gentle and sleepy smile made his heart feel something, and whenever he felt that something it was just like before - he was captured in her gaze, emerald eyes causing him to be silent.

He really didn't understand it.

If only he could just talk to her about it, it'd all be over. She'd be able to help him resolve the issue, and then he'd know why his heart felt so jumpy that day in the park. Why each time she looked at him his heart stopped for a second.

He unknowingly sighed.

"Elias? What's wrong?" Came Chise's soft voice, and he turned his gaze down at her. She was sitting across from him, and it seems that she sensed how he must have been so deep in thought, as he had been pushing his food around with his fork.

"Nothing, Chise," he lied.

Was it his imagination, or did Chise's smile fade a little after his response? He ignored it, thinking that it was probably the former.

"Alright," she said, and changed the subject. "So what are we learning today?" She asked, biting off another piece of toasted bread. Elias hummed, for once not having given it much thought earlier, as he had been so distracted as of late.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe today we'd take a break." He cut a slice of sausage, and continued, "It would be good to go out for a bit. It has been a while since our last outing, yes?"

Chise nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

Ruth looked back and forth between the two, mouth stuffed with eggs and bacon. Chise reached up to wipe his mouth with a napkin. "Where do you want to go?" She looked up at him.

"Anywhere you want is fine," he decided. Elias wasn't really sure where to bring her right now, as they had no errands to run. He didn't understand yet what she might enjoy either, and thought it would be best to let her pick.

She put a hand to her chin. "Ah," she started, eyes beginning to sparkle with slight excitement. "Can we go visit Lindel-san? If he's not busy, of course," she added. The expression on her face made Elias feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and he closed his eyes, why he did so he didn't bother to ask himself.

Lindel wasn't really very busy at this time of year, he supposed. Chise would enjoy seeing the dragons, and it would be a nice visit to a land with much more natural greenery. Not only that, but it might also serve as a good chance to learn more magic.

So why did he have the urge to refuse?

Several reasons were lined up in his mind which suggested that they should go, but somehow Elias didn't want to still. His hand unconsciously gripped his fork a little tighter, eyes opening and narrowing. He felt a bit more beastly, and his presence became a little more terrifying.

" _No_." He said, a little more harshly than he had intended. Chise seemed a little shocked by this, and he softened his gaze and tone, hoping to not have hurt her. "Why not go somewhere the two- no, three," he corrected, remembering Ruth, "of us can relax?"

Chise's shoulders relaxed. "Okay," she nodded, understanding. "I have a place in mind then."

* * *

 **OMYGULAY IM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED. It's been forever, I knowwwwwwww... but AGHHHHHHH. INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION ARE BEING PAINS IN THE BUTT. (Still my fault, I apologize.) So yeah, this is my apology chapter-ish thing? I don't even know anymore. Anyway, I originally wanted this chapter to be longer, but I never quite got to finishing the second part of it, and so, here it is - ta dah... the supposed-to-be-longer-than-a-measly-800-words-chapter 4. Sigh...**

 **I have nooooooo idea when I'll get back into writing again, but know that I DEFINITELY will. Eventually. I just tend to shift my hobbies every few months or weeks depending on what I feel like, so yeah. But I always do everything at least once a year, so you can definitely be sure that I'll write again somewhere down the road in 2019. Hope you enjoyed this.**

 **\- animellow**


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